To douse, or not to douse

[holliscx]

I'm curious about urban dog owner etiquette if owners could chime in: I had a man scold me yesterday morning for not dousing my puppy's pee-pee in the street with water. He peed in the middle of a quiet street; not on a storefront or building. I know as the pup grows bigger I will have to decide whether to carry a water bottle every time I go outside or not. I'm developing my opinion but I feel pouring water over a dog's pee is window dressing versus ridding the sidewalk or street of stench. I have a problem schlepping water around to pretend it makes a difference. If I had a pressure washer strapped to my back and blasted my pup's urine to kingdom come then we're talking, but sprinkling water on a puddle of urine is a sideshow. City dwellers, where do you stand on this issue?

[sk_tle]

You like it or not you might want to check with your local laws. A number of spanish municipalities have started to give recommendation to douse with water mixed with white vinegar or bleach. I don't have a dog but there are now signs in my street about it and I see people doing it. In some cities it is only a recommendation, in others you can be fined. I think the main reasonning is to avoid the stains in the sidewalk. I think in Málaga it is only a recomendation. In Valencia you can get fined 50€ for example. I think these recommendation came alongside laws that prohibit the use of sulphur to repel dogs. It was quite common from some property owners used to do that to protect their walls/corners.

[holliscx]

While we're on the subject this is a Spanish phenomenon below that I just learned when you see errant water bottles they are to deter dogs from peeing



In Barcelona I think it's only recommended owners douse but I'm not 100% sure tbh. The first word that comes out of Spanish cops' mouths is how much the fine they're going to give you is. It's never good day or hello or about teaching but always a swift display of power.

[Too Tall]

Tell him to never visit France and have a nice day.

[j44ke]

Dog urine destroys the lower 2' of the facade of our apartment building, it corrodes the sidewalk transom door and freezes the lock, it eats away our iron railing around the tree well in front of our building, it kills any plant we put in the tree well except for the Bradford pear tree the city planted there, it removes the anodization on the aluminum frame on our front door and transom. Plus when one dog pisses on a spot every fcking dog in the city has to go over a piss on the spot. And it costs the owners in our building money because we are required by city regulation to keep most of those things repaired and in good condition.

[holliscx]

I had an urban forestry teacher in college who gave this lecture about dog pee killing trees. I didn't believe her, so I conducted an experiment: I was living in a basement converted garage that I rented from a retired professor. Every day when I got home from class I went outside and pissed in the same green spot. I don't remember if it was a plant, shrub, or tree but I rendered it as dead as a doornail in a few weeks.

[NYCfixie]

A few times a week my wife and I walk my (aging) parents dog to give them a break.

One early morning we saw their building staff pouring white vinegar over most of the lower area of the building nearest the lobby door. When we asked why, he said to keep dogs from peeing on the building and in the area because the urine is very corrosive. He then shared the building management gave up trying to get dog owners to be more responsible so they decided to find a way to deter the dogs. Apparently, in the long run it costs less to provide the white vinegar and pay the workers to do it than the damage the dogs will cause.

[KonaSS]

I had to reread this whole thread to understand what it was about. You learn something new every day. I have never in my life lived in a place where there isn't green space for your pets. Not sure I ever want too...

[holliscx]

I had to reread this whole thread to understand what it was about. You learn something new every day. I have never in my life lived in a place where there isn't green space for your pets. Not sure I ever want too...

Outside of New York this probably isn't an issue anywhere in the USA. Barcelona is probably an outlier in this sense. Spain has very little green to offer in its cities. This is why I posted about a dog trailer for I want to get my dog up to the mountains as soon as possible.

Urban dog ownership is a new game for me. I learn something new every day. The sociability is insane. There are misfit dogs at every turn. Then you have to be friendly with other dog owners.

I just got back from a playdate with someone I met in the street who adored my puppy. I've also gotten lunch with her partner. Kind of the opposite of Covid in that regard for as sheltered as lockdown and the pandemic was it's nice to just grab a bite to eat with someone for no other reason than they seem like a nice person.

[sk_tle]

I had to reread this whole thread to understand what it was about. You learn something new every day. I have never in my life lived in a place where there isn't green space for your pets. Not sure I ever want too...

This is not a big thing in Spain. There are some but not in every neighborhood. Also most people being lazy, a lot will never reach for them anyway.

Also, Spain is that country where 15y ago people used to throw away any food leftover on the ground in the restaurants/bars as well as the cigarettes butts. In fact it used to be the case that it was like a seal of approval, you would look for the dirtiest places to find the best restaurants. It changed a lot in recent years through lots of campaigns because they realized it gave a bad image for tourism but there are still a few small places like that but they are very few and nowadays thoses are cheap places limited to a particular public like students.

[Mark Kelly]

I had an urban forestry teacher in college who gave this lecture about dog pee killing trees. I didn't believe her, so I conducted an experiment: I was living in a basement converted garage that I rented from a retired professor. Every day when I got home from class I went outside and pissed in the same green spot. I don't remember if it was a plant, shrub, or tree but I rendered it as dead as a doornail in a few weeks.

I had a professor who was a specialist in the physiology of herbicides. He noticed that one particular spot of the university lawns was dead and that a particular dog pissed on it every day so he got out there and captured some of that dog's urine and tested it for herbicidal activity.

Nope, it was just piss, which in high enough concentration kills anything.

[ides1056]

I had an urban forestry teacher in college who gave this lecture about dog pee killing trees. I didn't believe her, so I conducted an experiment: I was living in a basement converted garage that I rented from a retired professor. Every day when I got home from class I went outside and pissed in the same green spot. I don't remember if it was a plant, shrub, or tree but I rendered it as dead as a doornail in a few weeks.

I went to a boarding school I loathed. The grass on the quad below my window did not green up come springtime.

[j44ke]

Rant deleted. No one cares obviously. Most people would live in filth even given the choice not to.

[BBB]

Shoes off inside? No shit…!?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...bacteria-shoes

[vertical_doug]

Shoes off inside? No shit…!?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...bacteria-shoes

A lot to be said about the Japanese custom.

[sk_tle]

A lot to be said about the Japanese custom.

Which japanese custom?

[htwoopup]

Which japanese custom?

I believe he means, like in Quebec, shoes off just inside the entryway to the house. Although the causation for the reasoning for it is different, the result is the same.

[sk_tle]

I believe he means, like in Quebec, shoes off just inside the entryway to the house. Although the causation for the reasoning for it is different, the result is the same.

I've never seen that as a japan only custom. I believe at least most of europe does that too, north of africa and most of asia/middle east too.

The difference might be when we have guests. I've always removed shoes at home but if I have a worker or a visit at home I tell them to not remove their shoes because I don't have guest sleepers. In Japan and some other countries guest are expected to remove their shoes too, while we just wipe the floor after the visits.